Competition Objective

• As a team, develop and propose an innovative marketing strategy in response to a detailed challenge provided by the case co-sponsors.
• Showcase your skills and creativity in this nationally recognized competition.

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Competition Co-Sponsors

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Competition Process

1. Complete the Intent to Participate form in AwardForce. Each chapter may submit only one team entry.
   • AwardForce Instructions:
     • Create Your Profile: Sign up using your official school email address to create your competition profile. Please do not sign up on behalf of someone else.
     • Follow the Prompts: After setting up your profile, follow the on-screen prompts to navigate through the competition submission process.
       • All students listed on the form must have active AMA national memberships, and only those students working on the case will have access. Students who are not yet members or in the process of becoming members will not be accepted on the form. Additional members can be added later as they join the AMA, your chapter, and your case team.
     • IMPORTANT: When prompted, select the opt-in checkbox to receive regular status updates about your entries.
2. After the Intent to Participate sign-up, AMA will send the full case to the chapter (lead contact, president, and/or faculty advisor).
3. Upon receiving the case, all teams should review all the materials and start a plan for how they want to address it (reminder: only active AMA national undergraduate chapter members are allowed to participate in the case).
4. Chapters must submit their complete written case, along with a copy of the signed contract/non-disclosure agreement (if one applies), and provide the names for the Chapter Team Case Entry form by the specified deadline.
   • When crafting your chapter’s written case, ensure there is no mention of the campus location or any other identifying information that could reveal your school’s identity. Any case plan referencing the school name will result in point deductions.
   • Faculty advisors can provide guidance/feedback to their teams, but should not provide direct “you should do this” instructions in developing the plan.
   • Save your full written case PDF file with the full institution name spelled out (examples: Texas State University.PDF / California State University – Long Beach.PDF / State university of New York – Oneonta.PDF)
5. Full Written Case submissions will be judged by a panel of professional and academic marketing experts in mid-December.
   • NOTE: Faculty members with a chapter participating in the case competition are not eligible to volunteer as a case competition judge.
6. The Top Finalists will be identified and notified via email, and the official announcement will be made to the entire Collegiate Community by late January.
   • Top Finalist chapters advancing are typically between 9 to 11 teams.
7. The Top Finalists will be required to present in person to the Case Sponsor and guest at the AMA International Collegiate Conference (ICC).

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Entry Requirements

• The AMA Collegiate Case Competition is exclusively open to undergraduate student teams from schools with an active AMA-affiliated collegiate chapter. Graduate students are ineligible to participate.
• The information in the case is confidential. Case teams may not share the document with others outside of the case team members and their advisors.
• Participation is restricted to active, paid national AMA members. Non-members are prohibited from accessing the case or contributing to its development. Additionally, graduate student members are not allowed to participate in any capacity related to the case.
• The collegiate chapter is responsible for ensuring that all individuals involved in the case are active, paid national AMA members.
• AMA faculty members using the case as course material must ensure all course registrants are active, paid national AMA student members.
• Failure to comply with these requirements will result in disqualification from the competition.

If you wish to participate in the competition but your chapter has not yet been established, please initiate a petition to start a collegiate chapter by contacting AMA Customer Support at customersupport@ama.org.

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Round Details

Round 1

Chapter teams will meet during the Fall, to review the case, develop a plan of action to address the issues identified in the case, conduct research as appropriate, create their strategies, tactics and metrics, organize those into a full written strategic plan, and submit the plan document by the designated deadline. Following the submission deadline, all full written cases will go through the Round 1 review process in December.

Finals

The Top Finalists will advance to the final round and present in person at the AMA International Collegiate Conference (ICC). Each chapter’s presentation team can consist of up to five students.

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How is the Competition Judged?

Round 1 (December)
The case competition round 1 judging process is facilitated via a blind process. All judges evaluate the case submissions without knowledge of what institution they are reviewing and scoring. The case competition volunteer judging pool is made up of AMA collegiate faculty and marketing professional volunteers.

Judging Rubric and Categories – Round 1 – A total of 100 Points:

• Situation Analysis – 20 Points Value: The situation analysis should demonstrate a thorough understanding of the situation facing the case sponsor in the desired markets, and should include a SWOT analysis or comparable alternative.
• Market Research – 20 Points Value: Primary research pertaining to the project.
• Target Market, Positioning, Strategy and Objectives – 20 Points Value: Target markets should be sufficiently described and grounded in research. Product positioning and marketing strategy should be clearly articulated and flow logically from the situation analysis and market research. Objectives should be realistic and measurable.
• Marketing Tactics – 20 Points Value: As appropriate, the tactical implications should include an integrated marketing communications plan, pricing plan, media plan, etc. The tactical recommendations should be a logical extension of the positioning and marketing strategy. Proposed timelines and budget should be included.
• Metrics—10 Points Value: Performance measures to be tracked and the benchmarks to be achieved should be identified, to determine if the proposed marketing strategy and tactics are successful.
• Presentation—10 Points Value: Proper use of grammar, spelling, punctuation, visual appeal, white space, etc.

Judging Rubric and Categories – Final Round – A total of 100 Points:

• Case Setup and Research – 20 Points Value: Demonstrates a thorough understanding of the case challenge and provides a sufficient overview of the situation through primary and secondary research.
• Target Marketing, Positioning, Strategy and Objectives – 25 Points Value: Description of the target market(s) for the proposed marketing strategies. Development of positioning and overall strategy, as well as measurable objectives.
• Tactical Implementation – 25 Points Value: The tactical plan should be based on the research and situation analysis presented. Proposed timelines and budget effectively communicated.
• Metrics—10 Points Value: Identify the performance measures to be tracked and the benchmarks to be achieved to determine the success of the proposed marketing strategy and tactics are successful.
• Presentation—20 Points Value: The presentation is professional in appearance and engaging. Presenters can effectively address the judges’ questions.

Finals
The Top Finalists will present at the AMA International Collegiate Conference. More details to come soon. In the meantime, please make sure that when your chapter receives access to the formal case brief document – we encourage everyone to make sure that all chapter members read all the information that is provided on the case competition in its entirety.

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Competition Prize

The Case Competition Chapter Prize Outline:

• 1st Place: $2,000 & ICC Award (1 chapter winner)
• 2nd Place: $1,000 & ICC Award (3 chapter winners)
• 3rd Place: $500 & ICC Award (6 to 7 chapter winners)

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Chapter Questions/FAQs

Chapter Questions Regarding the Written Case Process?

Case questions regarding the written case process and where to submit inquiries will be provided on the case competition rules and guidelines. All questions and inquiries will be answered and shared with all participating chapters who have signed up with the intent to participate form.

Do I have to be registered for the 2025 AMA International Collegiate Conference to participate?

Yes. To participate in Case, chapters acknowledge their intent to register for 2025 ICC. All chapter teams selected to move forward as finalists will be required to register for ICC by January 2025.

What should I wear for the competition?

Professional business attire is encouraged for the in person presentation. Look sharp, as you want to impress the case competition judges! Please remember to remove your name badge and avoid wearing attire that identifies a specific school.

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Resources

• Case Competition Rules, Guidelines and Deadlines
• Case Competition Top Tips for Success
  • AMA Collegiate will also be sharing and highlighting Top Tips during the monthly Chapter Leaders Virtual Forms in Sept and Oct too – so make sure to join us!